IO540
15th Sep 2010, 09:29
Lately I have been fortunate to have a go in the above. The last two were with instructors.
The 737 full motion sim (7 million euros) can be had at Malev facilities at Budapest airport in Hungary (+36 1296 7746) for a mere 300 euros for 1hr. Fantastic value.
At light loadings, a JP climbs at about +3000fpm. A TBM850 about +2500fpm. A 737 goes like a rocket and beats the lot with +5500fpm; it is very easy to fly provided you don't have to climb to any particular altitude; the first time I did it I busted the 2000ft level by 4000ft :) However it is easy enough to fly (with auto throttle) and land; I flew all good landings, and one passable one following a reasonable ILS in OVC002. The interaction of auto throttle and massive trim movements is the most challenging bit.
On runway performance, a JP beats a TBM substantially, getting off in about 300m. The TBM would need about 450m. A 737 would however beat even the JP... except it doesn't because it rotates at ~120kt so it would need ~700m. It would definitely stop in 700m (tarmac). I don't think you will find these numbers in the AOC manuals though ;)
The 737 is an all-out rocket which would get out of hand much faster than anything I have flown if one was not paying attention. Stall recovery is easy though, and conventional. I did not try it with full backwards trim (as in "Amsterdam").
One interesting thing is that when 737 pilots fly "manually" (enroute or an ILS) they actually tend to fly the flight director. On the Honeywell avionics the FD is two lines and you line up a rectangle on their intersection. This is very clear and much clearer and more precise than the Honeywell KI-256 type of FD which is a triangle which you line up with two bars. I wonder if any GA "EHSI" product offers such a FD?
The 737 full motion sim (7 million euros) can be had at Malev facilities at Budapest airport in Hungary (+36 1296 7746) for a mere 300 euros for 1hr. Fantastic value.
At light loadings, a JP climbs at about +3000fpm. A TBM850 about +2500fpm. A 737 goes like a rocket and beats the lot with +5500fpm; it is very easy to fly provided you don't have to climb to any particular altitude; the first time I did it I busted the 2000ft level by 4000ft :) However it is easy enough to fly (with auto throttle) and land; I flew all good landings, and one passable one following a reasonable ILS in OVC002. The interaction of auto throttle and massive trim movements is the most challenging bit.
On runway performance, a JP beats a TBM substantially, getting off in about 300m. The TBM would need about 450m. A 737 would however beat even the JP... except it doesn't because it rotates at ~120kt so it would need ~700m. It would definitely stop in 700m (tarmac). I don't think you will find these numbers in the AOC manuals though ;)
The 737 is an all-out rocket which would get out of hand much faster than anything I have flown if one was not paying attention. Stall recovery is easy though, and conventional. I did not try it with full backwards trim (as in "Amsterdam").
One interesting thing is that when 737 pilots fly "manually" (enroute or an ILS) they actually tend to fly the flight director. On the Honeywell avionics the FD is two lines and you line up a rectangle on their intersection. This is very clear and much clearer and more precise than the Honeywell KI-256 type of FD which is a triangle which you line up with two bars. I wonder if any GA "EHSI" product offers such a FD?